Angry Chicago Latino parents threatened Tuesday to keep their kids home on test day next month if state education officials insist on giving students who are still learning English an achievement test in English.
Facing threats of federal sanctions, state officials were ordered last October to give the same state tests native English speakers take to some 60,000 Illinois public school kids who haven’t yet mastered English.
Yes, people are protesting that we DARE to give a test in English in Chicago, Il. USA. Now, that in of itself is funny enough. But it gets better:
Speaking through a Spanish-English translator, parent Erika Soto said her third-grade daughter is “very smart, but because of this test, she is going to be labeled a failure. So how is she going to feel?’’
It's not about how your child "feels", it's about your child learning the material and passing or failing. This is EXACTLY what's wrong with our educational system today. Parents, teachers, and principals are all worried about little johnny's hurt feelings if he fails a test. Then we turn around and wonder why we're getting our butts whipped in the international scene of mathematics and science.
Start failing these kids if they aren't up to snuff.
Parents raised their hands in agreement Tuesday when asked if they would keep their children home rather than have them take the new test.
“We have to push them to pay attention and if this is the way to get them to pay attention, I will do it,’’ said Leticia Barrera, parent of a Monroe Elementary third grader.
Barrera’s daughter, Arely, said she did poorly on practice tests, and is worried she’ll tank the real thing.
“I’m scared,’’ said Arely, age 9. “I think I’m going to fail. I’m not prepared to do the test.’’
Well Arely, if you fail, you'll have to take the test again, or repeat the course. That's how it works here. We've all had anxiety about school at one point or another. The difference is that we bucked up and studied. I'm sorry to tell you that your feelings don't mean anything in the real world. When you get a job, your boss won't care if your feelings are hurt because you didn't work at a good performance level. He/She will simply fire you and get someone who can.
We're not trying to be cruel, we're trying to prepare children for life in the real world. If you coddle these children, they will know nothing of dealing with failure and will have a tougher time when they do go out into the world. It is the job of the parents and school staff to make sure that doesn't happen. They are failing miserably.
Parents: Get involved in your children's school work. Don't have time? Make time.
Teachers: Fail students who don't pass tests and know the material.
Principals: Enforce the teacher's jobs. Give higher raises to good performing teachers.
Everyone can remember at least one teacher in their lives who made a difference to them. It could have been a kind word, a helpful hint, or just a passion for the subject (My English teacher Mr. Piper was really passionate). It's time that we brought back the harsh realities of school: If you fail, you repeat until you pass.
It's perfectly ok for some students to fail throughout life. Someone has to ask me if I want fries with my order.
Travis
No comments:
Post a Comment